Chapter 267: This Life—The Beginning (VIII)

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Chapter 267: This Life—The Beginning (VIII)

After seeing Unit One’s capabilities and the prospects for robotics, Wei Xun immediately decided to build a vast technology park around it. As the technical core and inventor, Shang Ke would have extensive autonomy and a generous share allocation.

With Wei Xun’s support, Shang Ke no longer had to worry about funding or equipment. He only needed to concentrate on research and development.

The technology park kept Wei Xun impossibly busy. During the day, he barely had time to contact Shang Ke, but at night, whenever he tried to sleep alone, chaotic images surfaced in his mind, leaving him restless and stirring his blood.

Wei Xun picked up his phone and sent Shang Ke a message. There was no reply. He sent another. Still nothing.

“Damn it!” Who had promised him that he would keep his phone on him twenty-four hours a day, keep it charged, and read every message down to the smallest detail?

The phone on the bed chimed. Unit One turned its head and said, “Keke, you have a message.”

“Who is it? Read it for me.” Shang Ke lay across the workbench without looking back.

Unit One’s electronic eyes flickered, and it read the text automatically: “Are you asleep?”

Unit One imitated Wei Xun’s voice so perfectly that Shang Ke recognized the sender at once.

“Should I answer?” Unit One asked.

Shang Ke: “Ignore him.”

A little while later, a second message arrived. Unit One read it immediately: “I can’t sleep. Talk to me.”

You say “talk” and I am supposed to talk? Shang Ke was still angry about Wei Xun climbing into his bed in the dark. He rolled his eyes and decided to ignore him completely. Then he thought better of it. If he failed to answer, would that man break into his home again in the middle of the night?

Whether Wei Xun would or not, Shang Ke was not going to gamble his own chastity against the man’s self-control.

He sprang to his feet, stuffed Unit One into his backpack, grabbed his laptop, put on his coat, and left without a moment’s hesitation.

Ten minutes later, a Land Rover charged into the residential compound. Wei Xun got out and let himself into Shang Ke’s apartment by now-familiar routes, only to find it empty.

“Keke, Wei Xun is calling.” The ringtone echoed through the hotel room. Unit One assumed Shang Ke had not heard it and dutifully reminded him.

Shang Ke lifted Unit One out of the backpack. “Put him through.”

“Where are you?” Wei Xun’s voice sounded distinctly displeased.

So he had gone to Shang Ke’s place again? Otherwise, he would have asked, Are you home? not Where are you? What an “easy-to-understand” man.

“Yuntai.” Shang Ke casually named a place. In reality, he was in the hotel next door to his own apartment complex.

“Why did you suddenly go to Yuntai?”

“To see the cherry blossoms.”

“When are you coming back?”

“In two or three days, I suppose.”

“Why did you not answer my messages?” Wei Xun thought darkly that if Shang Ke dared say he had not wanted to reply, Wei Xun would make him regret it.

“Because I knew that if I did not answer, you would come running to my apartment.”

“…You wanted me to come?”

“Yes. Because I am not there.”

“…”

There was a long silence. Shang Ke did not need to imagine what Wei Xun’s expression looked like.

Suppressing a laugh, Shang Ke spoke before Wei Xun could erupt. “I plan to visit Yuntai Scenic Area tomorrow. Should I bring you a gift?”

The moment Wei Xun heard the word “gift,” the anger that had just flared up vanished. He answered in a low voice, “Anything is fine.”

“Then I will choose something at random. Do not complain when you get it.”

“Mm.”

After ending the call, Shang Ke opened his laptop, logged on to a shopping site, and briskly ordered a gift with unmistakable Yuntai flavor.

Wei Xun got back into his Land Rover and returned home in a good mood, completely unaware that Shang Ke had soothed him with a few simple changes of tone. If Shang Ke had been sent by an enemy to toy with him, Wei Xun would have lost disastrously. The emotions accumulated over countless lives had become a mark on his soul. Once awakened, they spread like wildfire, magnifying his scoundrel instincts until the situation turned into a flesh-and-blood battlefield in minutes.

But the facts soon proved that Wei Xun was not so easy to appease. When Shang Ke checked out of the hotel and returned home, he found that someone had emptied the apartment.

He called Wei Xun and received the answer, “The security in your current residential compound is far too poor. Considering both technical confidentiality and your personal safety, I believe it is necessary—for public and private reasons—to move you somewhere else.”

“Could you not have discussed it with me before moving everything?” Shang Ke did not mind changing homes. He minded Wei Xun acting first and informing him afterward.

“We can discuss it now. It is not too late. I will send someone to bring you over and show you the new place. If you do not like it, you can always change it.”

“…” Wei Xun’s idea of discussion was: I do not care whether you agree, but you may choose your favorite from the options I provide.

He still needed discipline. Shang Ke thought so as he got into the car sent by Wei Xun.

Wei Xun had chosen a duplex of more than three hundred square meters outside the Third Ring Road, about a dozen minutes from the city center by car.

“Take a look. Do you like it?” Wei Xun welcomed Shang Ke inside and showed him around.

Shang Ke was quite pleased with the building. The surroundings, location, and décor were all excellent. More importantly, it came with an underground studio equipped with an advanced security system.

Entry and exit required identity verification, and surveillance cameras covered the entire compound. The security level was exceptionally high.

Considering the importance of the technology, Shang Ke did not think Wei Xun’s arrangement was unreasonable. Once the laboratory was established, everyone involved in the core projects would need close protection—or close monitoring.

“I am living here alone?” Shang Ke did not believe Wei Xun had no ulterior plan.

“I live next door.” Wei Xun spoke calmly. “You do not need to hire a housekeeper. Just ask my housekeeper and servants to handle daily chores. There is an intercom on the wall; someone will come whenever you call.”

Shang Ke leaned toward the window and saw an archway on the left side of the garden. Wei Xun’s residence lay on the other side.

Yes. Wei Xun really was an easy man to understand.

Wei Xun looked at Shang Ke leaning by the window, his gaze tracing the handsome profile and pale neck. His tall body drifted closer without conscious intent until he almost enveloped Shang Ke in his presence.

“This place will do.” Shang Ke turned suddenly. “Thank you for finding it. I like it very much.”

As he spoke, he took a box from his pocket, pressed it against Wei Xun’s chest, and used the motion to widen the distance between them. “The gift I promised you.”

Wei Xun accepted it. When he looked up, Shang Ke had already slipped out of his embrace and floated away.

His eyes darkened slightly. When he opened the gift, the first thing he saw was a flash of brilliant pink. Only then did he recognize a girlish wallet printed with cherry blossoms.

Was this the gift Shang Ke had brought back from Yuntai? Even if it was vulgar, Wei Xun would accept it with a smile. He stiffly removed the wallet and found a heart-shaped card beneath it. At the top it read, “Leave a five-star review for cash back,” followed by a huge “3” yuan…

Wei Xun’s expression cracked. “…”

Wei Xun glanced darkly toward Shang Ke and saw him draped over the back of the sofa, only his head visible, laughing helplessly.

“Ah, I have just thought of a genius design.” Shang Ke leapt up and sprinted toward the underground studio, sealing himself inside before Wei Xun could erupt.

Wei Xun shifted, but ultimately did not follow. The future was long; he would let Shang Ke off this time.

He looked at the box in his hand again. The corners of his mouth twitched several times before he slipped it into his pocket and walked out.

Once Shang Ke had officially moved in, he called Qi Chen at once, told him he had moved, and sent him the address.

Qi Chen knew who had arranged it the moment he saw the address.

“Keke, you know Wei Xun has bad intentions toward you. Why are you still giving him opportunities to get close?”

“We are business partners.”

“Business partners?” Qi Chen blurted out. “Do normal business partners sleep together?”

The words were barely out before Qi Chen looked remorseful. He wanted to bite off his own tongue, yet he could not suppress the anger surging inside him.

After hesitating again and again, he decided to make everything clear. “Keke, I know you are worried about Wei Xun’s position, but you do not need to be. He is even more worried than you are. If his family found out he was sleeping with a man, they would be furious. I kept silent mainly because I was afraid they would make things difficult for you. Before this gets out of control, cut ties with him and move in with me. I can keep you safe.”

The Qi family could not match the Wei family’s status, but its influence in business and politics was still considerable. As long as Wei Xun retained even a little sense, he would not casually offend the Qi family, much less openly come and steal someone away.

Shang Ke was about to answer when the back of his neck suddenly grew hot. A body pressed against him, trapping him between two arms.

“Qi Chen, who gave you the nerve to steal what is mine?” A low, dangerous voice sounded beside Shang Ke’s ear. Two large hands slid into his clothes.

“Wei Xun.” Qi Chen’s voice came from the other side, every word ground between his teeth. “Do you think you are so impressive? All you can do is bully people with your power and force them to do what they do not want.”

“That is right. I am forcing someone to do something he does not want right now.”

“Wei Xun!” Shang Ke was pressed hard against the windowsill. His waistband was ripped open, and something hot pushed between his legs.

“Wei Xun, what are you doing?” Qi Chen shouted furiously.

“What do you think I am doing?” With one hand, Wei Xun clamped down on the hand holding Shang Ke’s phone. With the other, he explored Shang Ke’s waist and abdomen. Biting his ear, he ordered in a low voice, “Do not hang up. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee I will not do something to Qi Chen.”

Shang Ke: “…” This darkened scoundrel aura was becoming more than he could handle.

Qi Chen’s furious shouting continued from the other end of the call.

The angrier Qi Chen became, the more violent Wei Xun’s movements grew. He wanted Qi Chen to understand completely who Shang Ke belonged to. How dare the man encourage Shang Ke to move in with him? He was practically asking to die.

“Ah!” Wei Xun held Shang Ke firmly and forced his way in without even taking time to use lubrication.

Shang Ke tore himself free and hurled the phone away. Click. The call ended.

“Wei Xun, are you a fucking animal?” Shang Ke braced both hands against the window frame, half his body hanging outside.

“Keep Qi Chen away from you.” Wei Xun lifted Shang Ke’s right leg and thrust hard. “I can indulge anything you do, but I have never been gentle with enemies, whoever they are.”

“Who I associate with is my freedom!” Shang Ke shouted. Did this man simply refuse to learn what respect meant?

“I do not care about anyone else. Qi Chen is the one exception.” Wei Xun’s tone was absolute.

“Why?”

“The moment I see him, I want to kill him.”

Shang Ke: Damn it. The reincarnation curse of the final life really was powerful. It had awakened Wei Xun’s scoundrel instincts to an infinite degree…

Qi Chen gripped the phone tightly. When he imagined Shang Ke being forced beneath that man, a trace of blood-colored violence flashed in his eyes. His ears buzzed, and he could barely breathe. Then countless strange images surged through his mind like a tide, as if some power were about to break through its restraints.

“Ah—” Qi Chen clutched his head and dropped to his knees, his face twisted in agony.

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